Tadej Pogačar has set a new record of 35 minutes and 27 seconds up Alpe d’Huez on stage 19 of the Tour de France, finally breaking Marco Pantani's 29-year-old time on one of cycling's most famous climbs.
Pogačar attacked on the first of Alpe d’Huez’s 21 bends and quickly began to claw back more than three minutes on the breakaway, which included Sepp Kuss, Lenny Martinez and Richard Carapaz, who won stage 18 and had hoped to claim maximum King of the Mountains points.
Pogačar, wearing the yellow jersey, bridged across to Martinez and Carapaz, before distancing the duo in the final kilometre to win solo.
The Slovenian's time on the climb smashes Pantani's previous record, which had stood for nearly three decades. It was back in 1997 that the late Pantani set a time of 37 minutes and 35 seconds.
Pantani set his record when the official Alpe d’Huez climb was slightly longer at 14.5km, whereas today it measures 13.8km. One thing is for sure, though – Pogačar has made Alpe d'Huez his own.
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"It's very cool to win up here," said Pogačar. "It was a crazy atmosphere on the whole climb. It was thanks to all of the team that I could pull it off in the end.
"In the first kilometre [on Alpe d'Huez] I knew that I had good legs and there weren't many guys left who could go with me. I committed to the top and had Adam [Yates] to give me a morale boost and I rode behind him for a couple of km.
"I had to fight against super-good riders [Carapaz and Martinez] but I had enough to win the stage."
Showdown on Alpe d'Huez
After his attack at the foot of the climb, Pogačar quickly met his teammate Yates, who had dropped back from the breakaway. Yates had suffered from a virus earlier in the week, but plugged away and helped set the pace for Pogačar.
With 9.5km to go, Pogačar left Yates and continued to chase to the lead group, which continued to pick up the pace knowing the defending champion was closing down the gap.
Only Martinez could stick with Carapaz’s brief attack with 8.5km to go, but Kuss managed to get back to the duo as the three began to work together.
Carapaz launched a second attack before Kuss unleashed a counter and the trio came back together once again.
Despite their efforts, Pogačar was in formidable form. The defending champion was quickly passing riders on the road and reducing the gap to Carapaz, Kuss and Martinez, as he headed through the thick crowds.
The break had 3 minutes, 25 seconds over Pogačar at the start of the climb. But with 5.6km to go, the gap had dwindled to only 1 minute and one kilometre later it was down to 34 seconds.
Carapaz and Kuss’s attacks, and the surge in pace, made it briefly look as if the lead group would stay away.
Yet, with 4km to go, Pogačar could see the leading trio up the road, and it became only a matter of time before the champion elect, now two days from winning the Tour for a record-equalling fifth time, would catch them.
Pogačar eventually passed Kuss and Martinez, who managed to stay on the Slovenian’s wheel, leaving only Carapaz in front. Pogačar caught the EF Education Easy-Post rider with 1.6km to go as the games began for the stage win.
Pogačar looked as if he couldn’t shake Carapaz and Martinez, but within the last kilometre he attacked and left the two riders for dust, claiming the stage and setting a new record on the iconic ascent.
Martinez and Carapaz came second and third respectively with Kuss and Tobias Johannessen completing the top five on stage 19.
Following his victory on stage 18 and third place today, Carapaz snatched the polka dot jersey from Pogačar.
The Ecuadorian now has 91 points in the King of the Mountains competition, versus Pogačar’s 90 points.
This will likely mean another aggressive day of racing for Carapaz as the Tour heads to Alpe d’Huez again on stage 20, as he tries to secure the jersey before the peloton heads to Paris on Sunday.
